Saturday, September 29, 2007

Seems like we've been spending all our time in the kitchen these days-- making baby food, making meals, washing dishes, etc. So all the pics and video from this week are taken in the kitchen.

My neighbor, Jamie, tells me often how her basil is out of control. Well, we've definitely tried to use as much as we can. On my meal planning list for this week there's pot grapao gai (thai basil chicken) and then last night I made pesto for the first time. It was time consuming picking off all the basil leaves but after that it was a piece of cake. I actually made 3 batches, 2 to freeze, since basil is so easily accessible to us right now and since I was in the groove. It turned out absolutely yummy. We had it over rocket tortellini with a salad and a chicken sausage from HEB. It was a great meal. Anyway, we all worked on the meal prep as a fam. We let Adelaide "help" too. Here's a pic of her and Rocky picking off the basil leaves. Like father, like daughter.

Adelaide wasn't helpful the entire time though. She realized that Scooter was very interested in what we were doing so she decided to use that to her advantage. She used her basil to get him closer and keep him there.

There was a time when I don't think Adelaide would have recognized Rocky in a line up. When she was really little he was out of town alot and she just didn't know him like she knew me. Well now she definitely knows her dad. Rocky called the other day while we were eating lunch. I put him on speaker phone and Adelaide went berserk wanting to listen to him talk.

Thursday I made my second round of baby food for Adelaide. I was in desperate need with only 3 ounces of sweet potatoes, squash, and apples left. I put Adelaide in the bumbo seat to watch as I worked. She had been playing with the paper towel holder pretty much the whole time, sliding it back and forth. As I was washing the blender or something, I realized I hadn't heard the sound of the paper towel holder for awhile. Well, I turned around and found Adelaide quietly doing this. It was too cute to stop her right away.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

. . . then how many words are videos worth cause that's mostly what I've got for ya.

laundry looks alot different these days

girl loves her peas

the girl's hair is irresistible. i turned away for a minute at The Ronks' house and came back to this-- Noelle putting Adelaide's hair in a ponytail. She didn't have the gentlest touch.

I know I've mentioned before that Adelaide loves our cats, particularly Scooter. Here's some videos from a lazy Saturday morning with Adelaide and Scooter.

I can't get enough of watching Adelaide scoot backwards. This video was from the other evening when I was getting ready to put her down for bed. A few days ago I was cooking and put her on the floor in the kitchen. She scooted in a U around the table. I think it's super cute that she's moving even if it is the wrong direction. She'll learn eventually.

Sometimes I can't believe how rough Rocky is with Adelaide already. She surely doesn't seem to mind though. I was obviously freaked out at first when Rocky started throwing Adelaide up but I love her laugh at the end:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Adelaide is in love with these Fisher Price balls. This video is proof she loves them.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Alot of my friends have had babies recently or are getting there, so I'm asked occasionally what my favorite baby things are. I honestly haven't thought a ton about it but of course do have opinions. So after thinking about it a little bit, these are a few of my favorite things. I'll be leaving out all of the necessities though those are really my favorites by default.

bumbo seat and tray

I absolutely LOVE the bumbo seat. It's probably my absolute favorite thing. Adelaide started sitting in one at 7 weeks old. She liked it more than a bouncer because she could see around better. Now pop a tray on the thing and we use it for her high chair. She still sits in it frequently, usually watching me cook dinner or clean the house. I used to be able to sit it anywhere and not worry about it, but now i can't really leave her in it unattended. She has almost learned how to pop her butt out of the seat. Up until this point it was super restrictive though.

my brest friend nursing pillow

no I didn't inadvertently type a "r" in best friend. My brest friend was my best friend early on in breast feeding. I couldn't image life without it. Breast feeding is already difficult as it, not having to hold a floppy baby constantly makes it a little easier. This pillow is endorsed by lactation consultants and really helps support the baby as she's eating. I don't use it very much anymore but am sure I'll pull it back out when the second kid comes into the picture. When I got mine there was only 1 readily available ugly as sin design. Now they are widely available in lots of cute patterns and colors. Jealous.

play gym

play gyms are ridiculously expensive but awesome. I have one by boppy that adelaide loves but she's also really liked a tiny love one that several of my friends have. Even at 7 weeks old Adelaide could lay under the play gym for 30 minutes at a time playing. Suddenly the play gym didn't seem expensive anymore.

graco carseat swing

what a great invention. this was a great thing to have for the first few months. If I knew I'd have to head out during one of Adelaide's naps, I'd put her in the carseat, put it in the swing and voila, she'd be out (and stay out). I could also bring her in from the car and snap her into it and she'd stay asleep too. Oh, for the days when she didn't realize she was being moved! Another really cool thing about this swing is that it is really small. It can be disassembled quickly and fits easily into a suitcase. Adelaide didn't need a regular swing. She was just as happy with this and it takes up so much less space.

jump n go

I remember when I was pregnant someone mentioned an "exersaucer" to me. I had absolutely no idea what that was. It's funny how quickly I've learned the lingo. Anyway, exersaucers are basically something a kid stands in and is surrounded by toys. It's sort of like a baby cage of fun, but really what isn't? crib? pack n play?The drawback to exersaucers is that they are huge. (you'll see a reoccurring theme in things I look for-- compact size, usefulness-- i would say price, but you can't put a price on some things) We have one but we keep it in the guest room and use it occasionally but don't want to keep it in the living room. Our place just isn't big enough and I'm the kind of parent that basically has my house looking baby free once Adelaide is down for the night. So that's why the jump n go is the perfect solution for us. It's an exersaucer that basically folds flat. I attach it to the door frame of my bedroom and voila, baby cage, I mean exersaucer. Adelaide loves it.

snap n go

This is the way to go. Down with travel systems! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the person who invented this. Graco is a great brand for carseats because they fit well in almost after market stuff (and they are the lightest too). This stroller weighs practically nothing, folds nicely, and is basically wheels for the carseat. It's great too when your kiddo's sleeping in the car but you've got to get out and do something. Adelaide's always liked her carseat so the more she can be in it the better. We've got a nice Chicco umbrella stroller for when she's bigger and for walks around the neighborhood and stuff now. It's nice and light too and is nicer than other umbrellas because it can recline. She likes that too but it is much harder to shield the kid from the sun. The canopy on her carseat can move wherever it needs to in order to block the sun (another advantage of the Graco's; some carseat canopies can't be moved around as much) . The only disadvantage of the carseat is the heat. It's so hot in those things especially in Texas in the summer.

receiving blankets from target

I should have put this toward the top of my list cause I don't know what I'd do without these. Anyone that's ever had a kid knows that the top baby shower gift is baby blankets. I think we received about 20 of them when it was all said and done. Every time I'd open another one, I'd give a thanks and grin, everyone almost in unison would say, "you can never have enough blankets." Really? Maybe they didn't finish their sentence. Maybe it was supposed to be, "you can never have enough blankets. . .in a blizzard" or ". . .if you have 20 kids" or ". . .if your child eats them regularly" cause I think I've got more than enough to last through as my kids as we decide to have.

All that said, I LOVE the blankets I registered for at Target. I got 2 packs of six. The designs are different now than they were back in January but they are still cute. I got 1 pack of pink/brown and 1 pack of green/brown. First of all, they are only 3 for $7.99. Nearly nothing for babies is that cheap. Next of all, they are larger than every other receiving blanket I've ever seen which makes them great for swaddling. We used these to swaddle Adelaide burrito style til she was about 4 months old. Plus they are nice and thin. Sometimes I think a sleeper plus a big blanket is a bit much especially if your kid turns out to be a hot box like mine. Plus once they are just in the crib with the kiddo I don't fear her suffocating with them. She's actually slept with them over her head before. They are so cute and wonderful. Now we don't use them to swaddle her but we still use them everyday. We keep one in the car, one in her bag, and one in her crib and have 3 spares at all times. Every parent should get these.

booster seat instead of high chair

I'm not creative enough to think of this myself but at least 3 friends of mine told me about this booster seat. They all said they used it instead of a high chair and loved it. My neighbor came over the other day and saw it and liked it so I got it for her baby shower (for her second baby). I saw her again recently and she said she's going to start using it now for her son instead of his high chair.

I've got to admit I love it too. My dining area isn't huge so I'm thankful to have something that doesn't take up more floor space. I just leave it strapped to one of our dining chairs and it turns it into a high chair. It's also a great thing to bring along to friends' houses or restaurants too. It adjusts very easily for height and the tray adjusts for an expanding kid. I used the Bumbo until recently for meals but am so glad I decided to go ahead and set this up. Me and my friends aren't the only ones that rave about this seat though. On almost every baby website, it's got almost a 5 star rating.

biz and oxi clean

I love both of these products. Biz is awesome. Brooke told me about it so I tried it. It works great. Baby clothes are so prone to staining with all the spit up, puke, poop, and miscellaneous other adventures that stain removers are a must. I have a small bucket in my laundry room which i put all adelaide's soiled clothes in. When it gets close to wash day, I just put in water and biz and let it soak. No spraying on specific areas. It has even gotten stains out from clothes I've borrowed from people, talk about set in stains. Oh, and did I mention it's cheap. About $8 for I don't know how many buckets' full. Oxi clean is not so cheap but it works even better. For the stains Biz can't rid, I pull out the Oxi.

so easy baby food kit

I like this kit alot. It comes with a dvd, a cookbook, and 2 covered ice cube trays. Whereas some baby food books can intimidate. They read like medical books and tell way too much info. This kit is straightforward and easy to use. Just what you need to know. No fluff. I figure if you're gonna make baby food yourself you don't need 500 pages of convincing. The trays are great too because they freeze food in 1 ounce portions so it's easy to figure out how much food your kid's eating.

look a-round balls

Adelaide loves toys but right now these are her absolute favorite. They are the perfect size for her hands and she's so interested in the designs. Alot of moms told me their kids agree and love them too. Some of her other favorite toys are Baby Einstein blocks, a stuffed dog by Ty, a soft sorter by Lamaze, and a Baby Einstein globe rattle. She also loves books so much, really anything with paper. She seems partial to Goodnight Moon. I've always wondered how it has stuck around over the years, and I really think babies genuinely love it more than other books for some reason.

gowns

Early on when you've got to get up multiple times in the middle of the night and change diapers, gowns are great. I hated sleepers when Adelaide was tiny. Why put up with snaps and zippers and all that jazz when you're already half asleep when you could just use a gown? Not just any gown got my approval though. We got some that were perfect. They were thin, easy to get on and off, and (very important) the bottom of the gown was sorta loose. Lots of gowns have elastic that cinches it at the bottom. It seems good but then rides up on the kid all the time. I passed all my gowns on to my friend Cami when Adelaide outgrew them. She never used them for her first but was in love with the same ones with her second.

2 great books for mom

I really love these 2 books. My friend Liza let me borrow hers. I remember thinking numerous times early one, "I have no idea what to do with this kid." These books are wonderful resources for activities, songs, etc. I highly recommend them especially Slow and Steady. Now my problem is "how do I find time to do these things with my kid?".

Overrated Items:

Some things are worth the hype. Others are not. And in my humble opinion (and with my kid's preferences and needs), these things are not worth the hype. There are others but I think I touched on some of those earlier in the post.

nail scissors-- Some love these. Some hate them. I'm in the hate them camp. I would much rather clippers.

nasal aspirators-- you want me to do what with that? no thanks. haven't used it once. Baby 411 says saline drops are a better solution and I agree. I've heard they make good bath toys later though. Plus you won't really need to buy any of these, at least we didn't need to. They "gave" us like 3 or 4 of them at the hospital.

swaddling blankets (like swaddle me blankets)-- Adelaide could break out of these velcro blanket swaddlers in about 5 seconds flat. She'd get her legs out and then scoot it down and off her body. We tried them multiple times with the same result. So we returned to the handy burrito swaddle with the receiving blankets.

dreft-- maybe back in the day this was the only option for kids with sensitive skin for detergent; but now in a world of dye free, fragrance free everything, it's totally unnecessary to pay for special detergent.

bathtubs-- 3 people told me not to waste money or space on a baby bathtub because bringing your kid in the shower with you or getting a bath sponge would be just as good. At first I was skeptical but thought I'd wait and see how it went. Well, 6 months into Adelaide's life she gets about half showers and half baths on the bath sponge. Rocky gives her the showers and I bathe her on the sponge (sometimes in the sink, sometimes in the big bathtub, and sometimes just on the counter when she was younger). If giving a bath in the sink or tub, just lay or sit the kid on the sponge and proceed with bath; of course you only put an inch or so of water in the tub. If giving a newborn a bath on the counter, just put a towel under the sponge and proceed with sponge bath. Afterwards just wring out the sponge and let airdry. Simple. The sponges are available everywhere for about $3. Here's what they look like:

We just got back from Adelaide's 6 month checkup and she's down for a nap so I thought I'd update. She was happy as usual. The nurse commented on how smiley she is and the doc said she seems like a very happy, calm kiddo. She definitely hit another growth spurt in her height. She was only in a month and a half ago. Last time I think she was around 70th percentile and 25 inches tall. Now she's 26 and 3/4 which is the 80th percentile. Her weight is still the 75th percentile, 17 lbs. 2 oz, and she's still no bucket head. Her head's only in the 55th percentile.

Dr. Spencer said everything looked great with Adelaide. He said she'll probably be crawling in no time and that she's a very "grabby" girl. He couldn't get near her without her grabbing something of his-- the stethoscope, his watch, a tongue depressor, the measuring tape. However when he put her on her tummy trying to get her to grab something, she just turned around to look at him.

He asked me what she's been eating and I told him how much she loves peas. He said that's funny cause it's the number 1 most disliked food by kids under 1. He said Adelaide seems like the kind of kid that likes to break the mold.

I asked him about Adelaide's teething and he said that her little tooth (yet to make it's appearance) could be like that for months! That's not what I wanted to hear. I guess he was trying to keep my expectations low.

My little girl is no longer a newborn. It seems like she's grown up so much just in the past 24 hours. As I write she's up in her crib taking a nap, doped up on tylenol to help with her teething pains. My kid is getting her first tooth! I suspected she was teething for the past few days-- excessive amounts of drool, one hand or the other in her mouth at all times, and having a hard time going to sleep. I've been feeling her gums for any developments and nothing, nothing, nothing; then this morning I felt again and there was a little bump where there was none yesterday. There's still no tooth visible but I'm hoping it will break through very soon so she won't have to deal with the pain of cutting a tooth very long.

Adelaide's also rolling around like crazy, another thing that's making me realize she's no longer my little baby. Even though she doesn't really roll around that much while we're playing, we suspected for awhile that she was doing some major rolling in her crib. She's been sleeping on her side for over a month now and would often be in weird places in the crib when we'd go to get her. We'd never really seen her amazing rolling skills but the other day when I put her in her crib I hung around to watch. She rolled from her back to her stomach and again to her back. She did it over and over 'til her head was at the other end of the crib. What a little sneaker. I would have never known that's how she was getting around if I haven't stayed. Then last night when she woke up with teething pain I went in to soothe her and when I went in to reach her I couldn't really figure out which end was up. She had turned 180 degrees in the crib and was also on her stomach pushing up. I'm so used to seeing her cute face when I peer in, not the back of her head. Then this morning when I went in to see her she was on her stomach again with one of her arms stuck in between the bumper and the mattress, between 2 slats. Again from her nap, same thing. Oh well. I guess it's one of those things we'll have to work through as she gets better at it.

Then yesterday evening we were giving Adelaide some tummy time and she scooted backwards in front of us. She's done it before but always when I was in another room. It was funny to see her trying so desperately to move toward something but do the exact opposite thing. I think she's still thrilled to be going anywhere at all. Note: yes, we tempt our daughter to move with the hottest piece of technology on the market right now-- the iphone. It really is more functional that Apple markets it to be. And yes, that is Rocky's tongue in front of the camera at the end of the video.

After a little break we put her down again for tummy time and she did this for awhile. I'm having mixed emotions about how soon she'll probably be crawling around.

Today I gave Adelaide her first taste of peas. I was somehow convinced that she was going to hate them. When taking them out of the freezer I thought about combining them with apples to hide their taste but decided I'd rather see how she felt about them straight up. At first she didn't even want to open her mouth at all but then once she got a little taste of the peas on her lips she welcomed them, opening her mouth really wide. She ate it all! Surprisingly peas are a winner (and a winner for me too because they are the easiest baby food to make). To date the only food Adelaide doesn't love is butternut squash (which is fine with me because it's definitely a little more difficult to make).

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Though he sounds like an iron chef, he's the person that discovered the disease my endocrinologist thinks I have. I went to the doctor last Wednesday after a few long weeks of waiting. Everyone says thyroid issues are no big deal and that it'll get straightened out easily, so I expected to go in and get put on some meds and be fixed. Well, that didn't happen. Problem number one-- most thyroid issues are detected using a radioisotope test. Well, I can't get it done because I'm breastfeeding. Problem number two-- after looking over a few thyroid tests of mine, my doc notices that my thyroid fluctuates. Sometimes it's hypothyroid. Sometimes it's hyperthyroid. Sometimes it's normal. She thinks it's something called hashitoxicosis. Well, that makes it impossible to treat with simple medication.

Currently I'm hyperthyroid which makes me have a hard time sleeping, makes me super hungry, makes my heart race, makes me out of breath, makes me feel like I'm always going to ignite, etc. For now the doc says she wants me to wait to take care of it until after I'm done breastfeeding unless it gets really bad. I can't workout at all and I have to check my pulse four times a day to make sure it's under 110 bpm. Yep, that's my resting heart rate. I had no idea that's what was making everything so much harder. I was getting winded going up my stairs. I thought I was just getting extremely out of shape. They took a blood sample on Wednesday which I should be getting the results of any day now and I went in for an ultrasound on my throat last Thursday. Ultrasounds aren't ideal for diagnosing an issue but they are the best thing I can do right now. The tech said she noticed that it was bumpy not smooth like most people's. She of course couldn't diagnose anything but did confirm that it's abnormal.

So for now I'll be seeing the endocrinologist as little as every 3 weeks or as often as every week. It all depends on the results of the blood test she did. If the doc's diagnosis is correct, I'll had to have my thyroid either surgically removed or I'll have to go through a radioactive treatment. That treatment is the preferred method used by most endocrinologists but the major drawback for me is the isolation that goes along with it. I wouldn't be able to hold Adelaide for days and wouldn't be able to nurse her for a month (which pretty much means I'll just have to quit).

Well, that's what's going on in a nutshell. I'm really ready to be feeling normal again.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Adelaide is getting to the point where she wants to be on the move. Before she was fine just being in one spot. She can turn around really well and is beginning to move backwards. That really frustrates her. Today I had her on a blanket in her room. I left for a few minutes and came back and she was completely off the blanket. Here's a video from a week or so again where she was desperately trying to get around:

Adelaide is so ticklish. I love making her laugh. Here's a video of me tickling her tummy during lunch:

I am not always good at feeding Adelaide. If I'm in a hurry or if I'm gonna have to go ahead and wash her clothes anyway, I just give up trying to keep her clean. The other day while feeding her bananas I got some on her onesie so I just went with it letting her put her fingers in her mouth and grab the spoon. It resulted in bananas everywhere so Rocky and I decided to "shower" her off outside. It may seem weird or even mean to some people but it was fun to us.

While I'm on the subject of bathing, Adelaide had her first bath in the sink. We usually just take her in the shower with one of us but this seemed more traditional or something. She had a blast. It was like being in the pool for her.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

From early on lots of people told us Adelaide seemed like an extrovert, now it's definitely confirmed. She loves people so much that if we're in a room with others she won't eat and she definitely won't sleep. So we weren't really too surprised that on Sunday for her first trip to the church nursery she didn't sleep a wink. She was in there from 9:15 til 12:15 and had been up since about 8 but that didn't matter. There were other people around weren't there? The workers said she was very happy the entire time, smiling, playing, laughing, but she wasn't even remotely interested in sleeping. They put her in a crib for 20 minutes. They said she whined a little but never slept. Later they put her in a swing. That didn't help. Then they tried the crib again but this time she just blew raspberries and squealed. I'm glad they enjoyed her but it was frustrating for me that she didn't sleep. As soon as the engine turned on in the car, she was conked out. I guess I'll just have to expect the same thing every time she's in the nursery. Unfortunately she's in there 2 times a week this fall for church and then for women's bible study too. I'm thinking I may be a high maintenance mom tomorrow for bible study and bring some white noise and a big blanket to block her view of the rest of the room. I hate to do it but I hate to make her miss naps too.

Here's some pics from this past week. I brought Adelaide outside to play in the grass. She didn't know what to think of it at first.

Man, aren't those cheeks big. There's a picture of me almost like this when I was a baby. I had those same jowls.

Adelaide grabbed the camera when I was about to take her picture. I didn't intend for this pic to look modern and cool, but I like how it turned out.

My dad's been visiting this week. Adelaide has really enjoyed spending time with him. We've decided his name, for now anyway, will be Sampaw, combo Sam and grandpa.